It’s going to turn cold tonight, after the warmest New Years Day on record. So I decided to fill the green (brown) bin with pruned tree. I have terrible wheezes if I try to cut this Laurel in the spring so it seemed sensible to do it now but after a couple of hours I am feeling a tickle. The tree is rather old so part of it snaps off without effort but the new growth goes vertically without shoots. Probably it’s been cut at the wrong times but it can sprout monster growth if we neglect it. But the wheezing it causes me are reason enough to try to eliminate it. I don’t think my neighbour will mourn it if it disappears either.

As a privet also grows alongside it, this is an odd area of the garden. I’ve tried to introduce things like perennials and bulbs but it’s in direct sun in the morning and shaded the rest of the day. I’m not going to introduce anything expensive for a while but it would be good to get rid of the predominantly yellow flowers. There’s a mahonia as well as the Laurel, again not my choice.

Feeling a bit better now my throat doesn’t feel so tickly. But it doesn’t feel like I have had a restful holiday day but I’m not so keen on planting myself in front of the tv. Or starting a household project. Why does it feel like a never-ending task or that we have never-ending things to finish? I’d rather be outside than finish internal DIY these days. Do we have enough income to pay for those trades these days? I still need a better job to pay someone or to be doing less hours to be able to do it myself. Catch 22! I have slowed down a lot and I fumble things more. I am not so keen on lots of the things I used to take on and I don’t really know if it’s natural aging or related to my specific health issues. Who knows?

I think a chainsaw might fill the brown bin in a lot less time. Negotiation may be needed to get that done!